Play Dead
by PaperBows
Summary: Konoha is at peace. The Uchiha are alive, Uchiha Sasuke meets all of his clan's expectations and beyond, and Itachi is his disappointing little brother.
1. Chapter 1

**Look ! Another story with Itachi as the younger brother ! Huhu, this is purely self-gratification, and entirely tumblr's fault, people, please enjoy !**

"Your brother." Fugaku started at him, a crease between his eyebrows, from the looks of it probably nursing a headache. "I don't know what's going on in that head of his anymore."

"The clansmen are talking." He raked his hands through his hair, "How are they supposed to respect me if I can't make my own son follow a simple set of instructions?"

He locked eyes with his eldest son.

"Talk some sense into him."

For a few seconds, the man stayed unmoving, his lips pressed into a tight line, he looked like he wanted to add something, an ominous 'Do it or I am going to do something we will both regret' but instead took his leave.

Sasuke sighed.

Things were not so complicated, when Sasuke was a child, amongst the clan he was known for being a quite vocal ball of energy, occasionally breaking furniture, earning his mother's scolding.

He loved being a shinobi, training himself to exhaustion, always yearning for the best he could achieve, and Fugaku, for all his stern demeanor, would often be the one to pause and say "As expected from my son".

As soon as his little brother was able to walk on his two feet, Sasuke deemed that he was a sparring partner material.

Soon enough, two years old Itachi found a plush kunai buried deep into his belly (Mikoto forbid him from stabbing Itachi with the plastic ones). The toddler blinked and his big black eyes stared up at his big brother who was valiantly holding the toy in place.

"You are dead, otouto." Sasuke declared, then proceeded to show his little brother what it meant to be dead, namely, falling on his butt and lying motionless on the ground.

Satisfied, the seven years-old handed his brother his own set of fake weapons and set his body back into a fighting stance.

Itachi held the toys awkwardly in front of himself and dropped then as soon as Sasuke closed distance between them.

Arms slightly spread so that Sasuke could stab his belly again, he waited for the contact to happen and 'died'.

After five attempts resulting in the same pattern, in which Itachi was happy to just drop dead, Sasuke allowed himself to be a little bit unsettled.

In retrospect, maybe the telltale signs had always been there.

Deeply concerned, Sasuke wrapped the toddler's hands once again around the toy. "You have to try and attack me." He guided the little chubby hands so that the fake weapon hit his flank and let out an agonizing sound.

"Like this."

Black pools followed the hands holding his then settled back onto his brother.

"I don't like this game nii-san."

"What?" But Sasuke was young and had been naive in his belief that his desires were universal and who else better would share this with him if not his little brother.

"Can I just play dead?"

Sasuke shoot Itachi a horrified look.

His little brother was broken.

It turned out that another member of his immediate family found this behavior absolutely normal. Unwilling to let Itachi face his stern father on the matter (as Sasuke was secure in his belief that Itachi needed to be repaired before such an encounter would happen), the boy turned to their mother.

"It's alright." Mikoto smiled, ruffling Itachi's head affectionately, the toddler happily reaching for a hug. "Not everyone can be a ruthless shinobi." she chuckled at Sasuke's frown.

Before long, Fugaku caught on this particular fact.

Itachi's head was buried in books, occasionally scrolls or he was in his mother's kitchen, following her around. Whatever she taught him, it didn't have any incidence in his skills on the battlefield.

Sasuke feared his ninja skills would be catastrophic, but he discarded it whenever Itachi looked at him training with those wide eyes.

"You are awesome, big brother." He would say. "I don't think anyone can beat you." It was uttered in those blindingly trusting tones that seven years-old little brothers managed so well.

Sasuke loved the attention. But as much as Itachi found Sasuke's mastering of shinobi arts 'awesome', he never showed any further interest in them, so Sasuke prompted him to try.

"I won't be able to do it do as well as you." There was a nervous kind of smile on his lips as his eyes were slightly downcast.

"Of course you will! No matter how long it takes, you are my little brother after all."

Mikoto was gone that year.

Where Sasuke would trash things around in his grief, for the longest time, Itachi would stare, unmoving, and avoid doing the slightest thing at all unless requested to do so. He would look as if he had been shifted into a new reality and needed to readapt completely.

It ended when Fugaku got tired and dragged him by his hair out of his room.

At night, when the three of them gathered around the kitchen table, legs nearly folded, besides his chuunin brother, Itachi asked:

"Can I not be a shinobi?"

One could chose not to pursue a shinobi life.

In theory.

In one of the most prestigious shinobi clan, as the son of the head of such clan, it was more delicate.

Mikoto thought it wasn't, but she was gone and with her, the only person who supported Itachi in his ways.

Hands clenched into fists, Fugaku answered, "See yourself out."

"Are you ill Sasuke?" Naruto asked, putting his palm against his best friend's forehead, "For you to be the one proposing _me_ to eat with you _and_ offering to pay. Not that I'm complaining though. I truly overdid myself in that mission." The blonde snickered.

Sasuke practically hissed, swatting the tanned hand away, "Shut up. My little brother will be joining us."

"Uh?"

"I don't want to meet him in the Uchiha compound." He sent the blonde a vicious glare, daring him to inquire further.

"Really? You are quite popular there though. Don't tell me you actually grew some modesty."

As soon as the teen set a foot into the Uchiha compound, the clan head, after a long sigh of relief updated Sasuke about the reason of his recent near nervous breakdown.

Basically something along the lines of:

 _Your brother._

 _No stamina._

 _No sharingan._

 _You mastered it when you were three years younger._

 _But he's eleven and he can't do a single thing right._

Then the man went on about the humiliation this brought upon the clan. How everyone was already watching and judging and _'Do something quick.'_

But Itachi had the ability to take everything in stride where Sasuke would have simply exploded. Under Fugaku's wrath, he tried to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible which, considering the situation and his father's mood, was arguably the worst choice.

"Nii-san."

Sasuke's head snapped in his direction, he rose to his feet and met his brother halfway and enveloped him in a half-hug with his right arm.

Itachi smiled warmly before noticing Naruto, who was waving his hand at him. He quickly slid out of his brother's hug to offer the blonde a polite bow.

"Naruto-san."

Naruto smiled awkwardly, "Hey, you don't have to …"

His brother forced his back into a straight position.

"Come on, there's no need to inflate his ego." Sasuke whispered harshly.

The younger set a last glance towards the blonde, "Thank you for looking after my brother."

"Itachi! Stop it!"

Naruto laughed. "Hey! What have you been doing since last time I saw you, you were …" He made a motion with his hand, positioning his palm very close to the ground. "… this tall."

"Oh. Nothing … much." Sasuke almost had to strain his ears to hear the response. Itachi's eyes wandered briefly to his brother's face before setting back on his hands folded on his lap.

Sasuke gave his friend a look, "Naruto could you …?"

The addressed young man caught on immediately "Sure! I need to …. ugh, pee.", he scrambled to his feet and was soon out of sight.

Silence settled between the two brothers for a while, with Sasuke assessing the best way to address the situation as delicate conversations were not his forte. Mercifully, it was Itachi who broke the silence.

"Would you want me to be a shinobi?"

Sasuke blinked.

"Well … I'm not going to lie. Yes, it is something I would certainly like, for you to pursue a shinobi life, for father to stop lashing out at you, and the clan …" He trailed out. Itachi shifted, but said nothing. "What is it? You can tell me."

Their eyes met.

"If I had a choice in the matter." Itachi started, voicing his own self-doubts, "You won't ever have to fight, nii-san, not once in your life. But it is not my choice to make, and when you don't have the power … people don't listen, do they?"

Sasuke's eyes softened.

"I won't say I understand you" He rested his on the top of Itachi's head, "But you are my brother, and if you say this is what you want then … you can count on me to have your back."

Itachi's eyes widened, "Are you sure?"

Sasuke nodded enthusiastically, a reassuring smile on his face. When in turn he received a meek nod, he inquired, "Did father say something to you?"

Itachi hang his head, breaking the eye-contact.

"He said … that if your life depended on me, you would be long dead." The younger stiffened, like he caught himself doing something forbidden, and straightened. "But I promise you if it ever happens I-"

"Tsk. You don't ever have to worry about that." Sasuke shrugged, he pointed at himself with a grin on his face, "I'm invincible, remember?"

 **Please review ?**


	2. Hide and seek

**I swear I seriously fought with this chapter, it has been so mean to me ! Thank you again everyone for the lovely feedback, I hope you'll enjoy :)**

Sasuke woke up with a start, obsidian eyes flung wide, high-rank mission-hardened senses fully alert detecting someone's lingering presence. He crouched abruptly to be greeted with the sight of his little brother, legs tucked underneath his lap, silently hovering above his head.

Itachi staggered back, preventing their foreheads to crash onto each other with how quick the elder Uchiha lifted himself.

"What is it? What happened?"

Itachi blinked, and shrugged. "I just wanted to see if you were awake yet."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, he plopped himself on his pillow, an arm cushioning his head and motioned for his strange little brother to come over.

"You could have woken me. How long have you been waiting here?" Sasuke shifted and made place for the other Uchiha.

Itachi shook his head, "Not much. I've been cleaning up a bit." He pulled the blankets up to his knees, surrounding his lithe form. His shoulders slumped as Sasuke straightened. The young man set his gaze on the top of Itachi's head.

"How have you been, little brother? Is there anything interesting going on in your life that I missed?"

Silence grew for a while. Itachi did not speak, did not look at his brother directly, his eyes following the invisible patterns his finger was tracing on the blankets.

"It has been two years, so there are many things you need to catch up on." He smiled.

Sasuke studied him. From the way he held himself, Itachi's bangs partially hid his eyes from the teenager's view.

"Might be true, so, tell me, how does one go about being a pacific shinobi?"

A smile eased on the boy's lips. "It is not actually a thing. But I believe, you don't instigate fights … " He casted a furtive glance to his right, then fixed his gaze on Sasuke, left hand fumbling with his tiny braid. "And just in case, you make sure to stock up on healing items. It's nothing glorious, really." He chuckled, before looking serious once again, "So … do you have anything to do today?"

A grin stretched on Sasuke's face, "I don't know. Why? You've been longing to spend time with me? Admit it."

"Yes." Itachi shot him a bewildered look, "I have no idea why you would think I'd be reluctant to admit that, though, you must have confused me with yourself, nii-san." Mirth filled the younger Uchiha's voice.

Sasuke moved to smack him on the head, Itachi ducked, lying flat on the bed, "You ungrateful brat.", the older muttered.

Itachi pushed himself up with his hands, he swiped some bangs out of his eyes "Come for breakfast? I'll be in the kitchen, okay?" He added and Sasuke nodded absentmindedly, ruffling his head. Most of the time, Sasuke had to figure him out through the actions that were off and out of place. One of the advantages he had was knowing Itachi practically all of his life. But two years went by, and he wondered how much of what he already knew had changed.

When Itachi remained seated at his side, unmoving, once again fixing him with a stare, Sasuke cleared his throat.

"Sure, go ahead, I'll be right behind you."

Itachi's head jerked to his brother. "… Yeah." He scampered out of the room, nearly tripping over himself.

Sasuke frowned at the careless display, a feeling of uncertainty washing over him. He momentarily muted the alarm trying to ring in his head, knowing full well that he needed a level head to function properly. The recklessness did not match his brother's usual self. It festered on his initial worry that just came into life the day before, the same worry that Itachi tried to quell and now totally failed to.

As they came back from the takeout and entered the Uchiha part of the village, Sasuke had found increasingly hard not to hear the whispers, not to see the stolen glances, as they made their way through the compound. Itachi had fallen silent, in step with Sasuke, his back ramrod straight.

That strange pressure that wasn't there two years ago, when Sasuke left, he could then feel it in every step, that tingling sense of unease.

Aunt Uruchi at least was still a constant, and she graciously offered the both of them enough bakeries to satisfy the sweet tooth of five Itachis for Sasuke's welcome back.

That's when he saw them, while their aunt was piling the bakeries on Itachi's arms. The least discreet in their actions, a group of three Uchihas in their mid-teens, clearly fixing his little brother and bickering, _in his presence_ , trying and falling to be subtle about it. Sasuke was used to be the one snatching all the attention, (consequently, when they were together, his presence would shadow Itachi's) and when that happened, the clan members had no reason to be discreet about it.

"Hey you." He marched up calmly to the little group, feeling smugly satisfied when their heads snapped collectively in his direction, recognition flickering in their gazes. "I would love to hear what you have to say." He all but spat.

The sound of quick footsteps reached his ears, Itachi scurried after him. Damn him. He felt smaller hands trying to pull him back but stubbornly stayed rooted to the spot, "You don't need that kind of reputation." The boy whispered, out of earshot.

The three individuals appeared blissfully oblivious, and departed slowly, with nervous laughs. Sasuke fixed his brother a frustrated stare. "What was that for? I am pretty sure they were talking about you."

"So? They have the right to." Itachi shrugged.

Sasuke let out a long-suffering sigh, "Please stop being like this, we already had this discussion. It's terribly annoying."

Itachi scratched the back of his neck, "I'm sorry."

"I swear you are doing it on a purpose." Sasuke exclaimed, waving his arms around, "Anyways, you have to let me know when I need to break some people's faces."

Itachi chuckled. "I don't need you breaking anyone's face. That's the last thing I need."

 _Yeah._

The floor creaked under Sasuke's weight as he quickly stood up to join his brother in the kitchen, finding him keeping watch on the cooking rice.

"Where's father?" Sasuke approached and sat at the low table.

"He should be here soon. He has a guest to talk to."

Wasting no time, the elder Uchiha gripped the other's shoulders, turning him around so they were face to face. With his hold still in place, he scrutinized the younger with the same intensity as if his Sharingan have been active.

"Let's establish a simple rule between you and me. No lies, no matter what the other is feeling."

He felt Itachi draw a slow breath, staring up at him.

Sasuke furrowed his brows. His brother's dwindling self-assurance was obvious from the way he held himself to the way he acted, and right now it was the cause of his worst trait. In the face of conflict, Itachi lied, was keeping things from Sasuke, and every sense was telling the young man it was something he should worry about. When they met at the hotel, Sasuke had been under the impression that he could have made Itachi change his mind and please Fugaku, if he had been set on it.

He would see to it that this changed.

But right now he needed to know.

"Listen-"

"Sasuke."

Both boys looked up to see their father. Sasuke let go of his brother, for the time being.

"Father." He greeted.

Itachi slowly got to his feet, beginning to fetch bowls and for the first time in a very long time, the three Uchiha males were gathered around the low kitchen table, silently suffering Itachi's cooking. Fugaku mercifully chose not to comment (choosing the oddest times to care but Sasuke was not complaining), though, after a few minutes of silence, he sent a resigned look in Sasuke's direction.

"From your silence, I take it you failed."

The words were directed at Sasuke but Itachi almost flinched on his behalf. It was the first time the older brothe had received such a negative statement from his father, and it was because of him.

"I believe that one less Uchiha on the battlefield is not going to make that much of a difference, father."

"It is, when that Uchiha is my son."

"Father-" Itachi piped in, only to be interrupted with Fugaku's raising hand, "Be quiet." He warned, then turned to his older son, giving him a hard stare. "I did not expect you, of all people, to be swayed so easily."

For a moment, Sasuke looked like he would retort, but Fugaku continued immediately.

"In any case, I want you to be present for the clan meeting, tomorrow."

The young man nodded silently.

"One last thing." Fugaku added, fixing his youngest son, "Tomorrow you are coming with me. Be ready at dawn." With that said, he left, leaving most of his breakfast still untouched.

. . .

Itachi was five years old when Fugaku started silently thanking all dieties for his older son's existence.

Rumors did not take long to spread among the clan, especially since one's status brought them the necessary visibility for it to happen. The elders started being insistent for the boy to be brought to them, to 'deal' with his issue. His excuse of a son wouldn't show anything remotely close to a fighting spirit, and he had to yank him away when he surprised the older kids poking fun at his unresponsive child.

At the time, Father and son did not talk, Itachi gave him stares, that was it. He practically missed the most of his toddler years as he had to stay late at the headquarters, not to mention Sasuke, who's training needed the most attention. In truth, Fugaku had no idea how to approach him.

He eventually had Sasuke sit him down and give him a earful. A hysterical earful. Sasuke was quite vocal and demonstrative in trying to show him how to try and look intimidating.

Those were the good times.

. . .

Upon hearing his father's footsteps, Itachi carefully deposited the scroll in his hands, leaving the safe recesses of his mind. Sasuke had been summoned along with his team in the Hokage tower, and Itachi briefly thought about Shisui with a sigh. He went to join his waiting father on the porch.

He loved learning, it had a something precious he shared with his late mother. Everything had fallen in place then. Even learning jutsus, to be honest. But that was the end of that. Shisui, his best friend, understood this, that was his most favorite thing about the young man. Between the two of them, there were no expectations.

Uchiha Shisui was a prodigy on his own right, and there was no doubt it displeased the head of the clan greatly, as their friendship was a constant reminder of his son's failure, but he tolerated it at first, believing Itachi would eventually chose him as his role model, if not his brother. The few months after his mother's passing, Fugaku was left to witness what he considered Itachi's total lack of discipline, his mother's too lenient education.

The night Itachi confessed about not wanting to be a Shinobi, after he was sent to leave the room, his father found him.

"The great fireball justu." He said, "A Uchiha is considered an adult when they master this technique. It's high time you do."

In the dead of the night, where no one could witness his frustration. He set to teach his son of the emblematic technique.

The pitiful result had been enough that Fugaku turned his heels and left him there.

Itachi stared at his hands. Tried to feel at the burning in his breath that had not been there. He had no fire affinity.

Another common trait everyone assumed every Uchiha possessed, but in all honesty, Itachi was not a person of ambition. He just wished to be able to spend as much time as he could with his best friend and his brother, and help bring more happiness into their lives. He wanted to learn about the things he didn't know. These things made him happy.

Days later, Shisui would teach him Water Release, and with a genuine smile, he watched the water flow where the fire would have burnt. They did not tell anyone that, not where there would be place for false hope. But the blatant lack of progress Fugaku was forced to acknowledge resulted in him prohibiting Itachi from ever seeing Shisui again. He was prohibited from many things that Fugaku deemed unproductive and distracting, going to the village library, going out the the compound at all. Father became very strict on his comings and goings.

The only exception was on the day of his mother's death. Fugaku would take him out for dango, and occasionally buy him a few books. During Sasuke's absence, Fugaku's attitude alternated between rage and resignation.

The inconsistency of it all, the quiet unrest going on, Shisui's more frequent flickering in an out of the house every time Fugaku was absent, what was going on in these meetings he wasn't allowed to assist ?

They had been walking for quite a long time in complete silence. Even though Fugaku had not addressed him, from his stance, he could only guess the silent displeasure emanating from the man now. It had been there the day before, after all, and they had yet to talk it out.

In three steps, Fugaku was on him. There were no words uttered as the man threw him against a nearby tree, then closed down on him to catch him by his collar, his feet uselessly dangling above the ground.

"Have you spoken to anybody?" His father's eyes were ablaze with the Sharingan, the tomoes spinning dangerously, «… of your foolish ideals."

Itachi slowly shook his head, if he uttered any words now, Fugaku looked ready to explode. Was he deemed not acceptable anymore to be the clan head's son?

But then Fugaku's frame trembled with the intensity of a desperate man's.

Of a scared man's.

The realization shook Itachi to the core.

What has he done?

The tree bark slowly scraped the back of his head as the man let go of him.

"Get ready. Try and fight me." Fugaku took a few steps back, quickly executing a few hand signs.

He moved just in time to avoid the ball of fire that came barreling in his direction.

. . .

Fugaku's face was completely closed off, not an emotion transpiring.

As he was dozing in and out of consciousness in his father's arms, patched up by the clan healer, Itachi wondered if Fugaku ever once expected anything than failure from his youngest son.

Itachi's eyes were still desperately black. But it was his father who attacked him, and no matter what he wanted his son to believe, Itachi knew would never seriously attempt to kill him. Maybe that was why it didn't work.

"I will go to Shisui's house and ask him to get here, to keep an eye on you." The man deposited his son on his bed, sighing. "Your brother and I have to assist the clan meeting. It won't be too long."

As the man's arms let go of him, Itachi's eyes fluttered. He felt he should add something, as Fugaku seemed openly distressed now. Instead, he just nodded, still drowsy.

Itachi closed his eyes momentarily, and cracked them open slowly, his track on time lost. Moonlight shone through the open window. Did he leave that window open?

There was a sharp whistling and a blur was on him in a split second.

A strange glinting light shining in small golden eyes. A feral grin. There was a blade at his throat and a rough hand pressing down on his mouth. He could feel his chakra depleting by the second.

"Well, we were made aware of the existence of a little Uchiha who was quite incompetent at being a shinobi. I had to see for myself."

Everything went black.

 **Yaaas, that person is Kisame, as I am a weak person you see, and there are things I can't resist. Yes, I'm a very weak person who would love to read anything you have to say :)**


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